


Under the Radar

by DinerGuy



Category: Castle
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Suspense, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-03
Updated: 2012-10-11
Packaged: 2017-11-15 23:09:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/532796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DinerGuy/pseuds/DinerGuy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At first, all they had to worry about was the John Doe found in the hotel pool. But now one of their own has been taken, and Esposito has only himself and Castle to trust if he wants to rescue the person who means the most to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea that popped into my head a while back and just wouldn't leave. I started writing and it took a life of its own before too long. Thank you ever so much to Kkarrie, Jden, and domina tempore for all their help with it. There are not words enough to thank you girls for everything you did for me to inspire, motivate, and correct me. I owe you much!
> 
> Disclaimer: Castle and all its characters and plots and the like belong to the network and producers and wonderful people who make it show up on my television. This story is meant as a compliment and the only thing I claim ownership of is the actual authoring of this story and my original characters and plot idea. Anything you can recognize probably doesn't belong to me.

"Well, this looks like a charming place to spend the night," Castle observed, surveying the run down hotel in front of him. A sign out front proclaimed the low cost per night, and just by looking at the exterior, one could guess its age, as well as most of its clientele, fairly easily.

"Not if you end up in the swimming pool like our victim," Detective Kate Beckett returned, accepting the cup of coffee he handed her. "And good morning to you, too."

"Swimming pool?" Castle repeated.

Beckett nodded. "Manager found him this morning, called it in."

The pair went through the gate on the side of the property and rounded the corner of the building. Castle could see various officers bustling around the crime scene. Some were taking photos while others talked to the onlookers who were clustered on one side of the small courtyard that held the small pool and a few lawn chairs. Just like the building itself, the courtyard and its furnishings had seen much better days.

There was a form in blue jeans and a red polo laid out on the pavement beside the pool, the puddle underneath him showing that he had recently been dragged out of the water.

"Well, of course he was killed," Castle commented. "He should have known better than to wear a red shirt."

Beckett just ignored him and turned to Lanie Parrish, the medical examiner, who was crouched beside the body. "Hey, Lanie. What do we know?"

"Not our guy's identity, unfortunately," the woman replied. "However, I'm fairly certain he didn't drown."

Castle's eyebrows went up at that. "But wasn't he in the pool?"

"Well, he was, but these knife wounds in his abdomen are more likely the cause of death," Lanie explained. "Of course, I won't know for certain until I do a full autopsy, but it appears that he was stabbed to death sometime between about four and five this morning. There wasn't much blood in the pool, though that could be due to the filter; we'll know for sure once CSU fully processes everything."

"Do we have an ID?" Beckett wanted to know.

"Uh, not yet," Detective Kevin Ryan joined the conversation, having come up in time to hear Beckett's question. "There was no wallet or ID of any kind, and we haven't found anyone here who knows him; Esposito's still questioning some of the crowd. However, we did find one guest who came in early this morning. He says he heard some muffled voices and thumping from inside one of the rooms, but he didn't think anything of it until this morning when our guy was found."

"Of course. In a place like this, no one asks many questions," Castle commented. "Do we know who rented the room?"

Ryan shook his head. "The front desk has it listed as vacant."

"Ooh. Vacant room, murdered John Doe," the writer grinned excitedly. "This has all the makings of a classic mystery novel."

"Well, let's hope we can wrap it up as smoothly as a classic mystery novel," Beckett remarked.

"We're trying to contact the night clerk," Ryan continued, glancing at his pad. "Apparently our dead guy wasn't registered as a guest with the front desk, so we don't have much else to go on."

"Okay," Beckett acknowledged. "Is there security footage?"

"Yes, the manager's getting that for us," Ryan replied. "The building only has two cameras, one on the front door and one on the back. Shouldn't take us too long to go over."

"Great, thanks, Ryan." Beckett turned towards the hotel's back door.

Castle followed her, looking around as they stepped into the small, dark back lobby. There was not much in the five square feet of space, just a steep flight of stairs rising on one side and a single door in the adjacent wall.

"Wonder what happened to the light," Castle said, toeing a small pile of glass shards on the floor as he glanced up at the shattered light bulb in the ceiling. "Maybe the killer did it so he could get out the back without being caught on camera?"

"Or maybe it's been out for a while," Beckett replied, ascending the stairs. "Who knows in a place like this."

The two were soon at the door to room 206. What set it apart from the other identical doors in the grungy hallway was the bright yellow crime tape marking it off. Nodding to the uniformed officer standing beside the open doorway, Beckett and Castle entered the sparsely furnished room. It held only the bare necessities: a bed in the center of the far wall, a table that held one lamp, a hard-backed chair, and a small door that presumably led to a bathroom.

The focal point of the room for the newcomers, however, was the dark stain next to the bathroom door. There was a large stain on the ragged carpet underneath it as well.

"Nice accommodations," Castle quipped, "as long as you don't mind a little extra decoration."

"There's not much to go on here," Beckett ignored his comment. "Other than the blood, nothing looks like it was disturbed."

Castle nodded in agreement. "At least we know where the murder went down. Perhaps a lovers' spat?" His eyes lit up as a story formulated in his head. "Our John Doe meets a lady here, but unknown to him, she's married. Her husband was following her and when he finds out who his wife was seeing, he stabs him and drops him in the pool outside, breaking the light first so no one will see his face."

"Nice theory, Castle, but it's just as plausible as about a dozen other ideas," Beckett shook her head. "Come on; let's get back to the station and see what's on that footage."

* * *

"So, we have an unknown victim, an unknown killer, and an unknown motive," Castle mused, staring at the white board where Beckett was writing out the case information.

"Well, we do have a timeline; that's a start." Beckett finished writing and capped her marker. She stepped back, tapping the marker against her chin as she thought.

"Yo, Beckett," Esposito waved from his desk. "So, I went over the footage the manager gave us," he began when Beckett and Castle joined him. "Here's our John Doe entering the apartment," he hit a key to play a clip on his screen. The time stamp showed 4:33 am. "Now, there's no footage of him or anyone else leaving through the front. However, about ten minutes later, we've got this on the back door camera." He hit another button and a second video clip came up.

The screen showed the back exit door, with no movement anywhere in the frame. Suddenly there was a small flash of light and the screen went almost completely dark, although the exit sign above the door and the clock on the time stamp showed the camera itself was still working. A moment later, the frame was slightly illuminated by a sliver of dim light as the exit door swung open. A dark figure stepped through the door, slightly bowed by the weight of the large object. The group watching could clearly tell the figure was dragging a body. A moment later, the door swung shut and the video again went dark.

"So that's what happened," Castle grinned, straightening as Esposito paused the video. "I told you the killer broke the light," he told Beckett almost gleefully.

"Do we have anything on our John Doe yet?" Beckett asked the other detective, ignoring Castle's gloating.

"Yes, actually," Ryan answered as he walked up. He had a strange look on his face. "And you're not going to believe this."

Castle perked up. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

The detective shrugged a shoulder and handed Beckett a sheet of paper. "This is our John Doe."

"John Doe?" she looked up from the document. "His name is actually John Doe?"

"It is?" Castle jumped up to look over her shoulder. The paper showed a copy of a man's driver's license, the picture of which did indeed show their victim's face. "Well look at that!" He grinned. "What are the chances of that?"

"Not sure," Ryan replied. "But he was in our system due to his being arrested several years ago for assault. No family and he was currently unemployed," he finished.

"Do we have any information on where he worked before?" Beckett asked. "Anyone we can ask about him?"

"It looks like he hasn't held down a solid job in a couple of years," Ryan told her, glancing over the paper in his hand. "Apparently his arrest affected his career, even though he never actually served any time. After being released, he bounced around between minimum wage jobs. Looks like his last place of employment was a pizza joint, though he was let go from that one last week."

"Okay, Castle and I'll go check that out," Beckett said, reaching for her jacket. "You and Esposito go through his phone and financial records; let me know what you find."


	2. Chapter 2

"Yeah, I remember John," the short, older man behind the counter said. "Nice guy. Don't know why he couldn't be on time more often."

"Did you make these yourself?" Castle wanted to know, picking up another bite-sized, toasty brown roll from the platter on the counter. "They're delicious."

"I did indeed." The man's chest puffed a little with pride. "Fresh every day with my secret sauce. It's pizza without the need for two hands."

"Ingenious!" Castle grinned.

"Mr. Hart," Beckett interrupted. "When Mr. Doe was working for you, did you ever notice anything strange?"

"Other than his habit of being perpetually late? Well now, let me think," the man paused. "I can't say as I ever did, and he never talked about himself much. Although, of course, he didn't work here very long; he was only on the payroll for about a month before I had to let him go. He was a hard worker when he was here, but I can't afford employees who are that constantly tardy."

"Okay, thank you." Beckett handed him her card. "Please call me if you think of anything that might be helpful."

As Beckett and Castle turned towards the exit, a woman stepped out of the kitchen. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to butt in," she apologized, wiping her hands on her apron. "But you're looking for information on John Doe, right? I'm Amanda Adams; I work in the kitchen most afternoons."

"That's right," Beckett replied, turning back to the counter. "Did you know him?"

"I did," she answered slowly, nodding as she brushed several strands of red hair from her face. "Not well, or anything, but I worked with him quite a few shifts while he was here."

Castle leaned forward on the counter and gave her his best smile. "Did he have any problems that you know about? Or did he ever do anything that seemed suspicious to you?"

"Not at first," Amanda began fiddling with a loose string on her apron. "Although … the last week or so before he got let go, he started acting a little … odd."

"Odd?" Beckett repeated.

"Yes, odd. He kept acting kind of nervous, and he kept getting phone calls," she explained. "Which was weird, because none of the other employees ever get any personal calls, and if they do, it's maybe every once in a blue moon. Not like John for sure."

* * *

"Hey, check this out," Esposito said, picking up two sheets from the stacks of papers spread out on his desk. "Doe was making what you'd expect from a guy in a minimum wage job, then a few weeks ago, he started making deposits every week in addition to his paychecks."

Ryan was looking over his partner's shoulder. "And they look like they were pretty substantial, too."

"I'd say six hundred plus is pretty substantial," Esposito nodded. "There's nothing to indicate where he got the money, though; looks like all the deposits were in cash. They continue after he lost his last job, right up to the last one which was made three days ago." He turned to face Ryan. "Anything in his phone records?"

"Maybe," Ryan stepped back over to his own desk where his computer displayed the phone records they had gotten from the phone company. "He only had a few incoming calls each week, mainly from his places of employment. But," he continued, scrolling down the list, "about two months ago, he started getting a call every week from a particular number, including the night he was killed. Looks like he made his fair share of calls back to that same number, too."

Esposito raised an eyebrow. "Do we know who this other number is?"

"Yes." Ryan clicked a few more keys. "Number is registered to a Nelson Williams. Looks like he has a record, too, both on drug-related charges and an assault charge. And his last known address is right nearby the pizza place Beckett and Castle are checking out."

"I'll call Beckett," Esposito volunteered, reaching for the phone. "They can pick him up on their way back."

* * *

"Mr. Williams, we appreciate your coming down here to answer some questions."

The dark-haired man on the other side of the table shrugged. "I don't see that I had much of a choice in the matter."

Beckett didn't respond directly. Putting her elbows on the table, she leaned in towards the man. "Why don't you tell us about John Doe." Her words were a statement, not a question, and the look she gave the man left no room for argument.

"John Doe? If you want me to identify somebody, you gotta give me a picture or something," the man protested; Beckett thought she detected a hint of amusement in the man's eyes.

"Uh-uh," Castle shook his head. "His name is actually John Doe." The writer still appeared to be enjoying their victim's name.

The man raised his hands. "Hey, I don't know any John Does."

"Oh really?" Beckett raised an eyebrow. "Because we've got phone records that show the two of you talked multiple times in the days leading up to his death."

"Look, lady, I don't know what you're talking about," Williams told her firmly. "I talk to a lot of people, and none of them were ever named John or Doe or anything similar."

Beckett took a photo from the file in front of her and slid it over to Williams as she continued, "Then how do you explain John Doe's phone number appearing in a record of your calls?"

Williams peered at the picture. "Look, I do know this guy, but he ain't no John Doe." He sat back and crossed his arms.

"We have records showing the two of you had multiple phone conversations in the past few months. How do you not know his name?"

"I never said I didn't know his name," the man defended himself. "But his name is definitely not John Doe."

"How did the two of you know each other?" Castle spoke up.

"Work. We both worked on the same construction project a few months back."

"And did he ever say anything to you about any trouble he was having?" Beckett continued. "Did he ever act strange when the two of you talked?"

Before Williams could reply, Esposito stuck his head into the interrogation room. "Sorry to interrupt, but can you step out here for a sec?"

"Yeah, sure." Beckett turned to Williams. "We'll be right back."

She and Castle followed Esposito outside of the interrogation room. As soon as Castle had swung the door shut, Esposito spoke up.

"So, I did some more checking with the hotel staff. Turns out, the afternoon receptionist remembers seeing Doe and another man entering the building together the day before the body turned up. When I ran the description she gave us, guess who it was?"

"I'm going to guess it wasn't Bigfoot?" Castle offered.

Esposito rolled his eyes. "Nelson Williams."

* * *

Beckett stifled a yawn as she studied the caseboard for the umpteenth time.

"Long day," Castle observed as he returned from the break room with two coffee cups in hand. He gave her one and turned to look over the board. "Found anything?"

"Nah." Beckett wrapped her hands around the steaming mug. "There's nothing I haven't looked at before, but I can't help thinking there's got to be a clue somewhere in all of this."

"Did Lanie find anything in the autopsy?"

"Yeah," Beckett reached for a folder on her desk. "She sent this up before she left for the night," she said as she handed it to Castle. "Looks like what she'd predicted at the scene. Our guy was stabbed and then dumped in the pool. There was no alcohol or illegal drugs in his system, although there were several traces of prescription pain killers. When the hotel room was processed, there were several small bags of pills, but there were no high amounts so it looks like they were all legally prescribed to Doe. Unfortunately, it looks like that's all we're going to get from the body."

"So there is a drug connection," Castle observed, paging through the file.

"It's probably nothing, Castle," Beckett told him. "There was nothing to indicate the drugs were illegal."

Castle just shrugged and nodded. "Where are Esposito and Ryan?"

"I sent them home for the night," Beckett said. "And was just about to call it one myself. We aren't getting anywhere that can't wait until morning. I've got to be in court in the morning, anyway; I have to testify at a couple of hearings."

"All right then. I'll make sure to bring extra coffee." Castle winked. "I will see you tomorrow."

* * *

Esposito was almost home when his phone rang. The caller ID on the screen displayed Lanie's number, and he quickly flipped the device open. "Hey, chica -"

A voice - one that was low and gravelly and definitely not Lanie's - cut him off.  _"Hello, Detective."_


	3. Chapter 3

Esposito clenched the wheel, his face quickly going serious.

 _"Now, I don't want you interrupting me. Just listen,"_  the sinister voice continued.  _"I know you must be running a thousand ideas through your head, trying to figure out what's going on. So let me save you the trouble and just tell you._

_"You have someone in your custody who I very much want back. I know you won't mind trading him for your beloved M.E., now would you?"_

"You dirtbag," Esposito growled into the phone. "How do -"

 _"Oh right. Silly me to think you would just take this all lying down. Let me tell you what. If you would so kindly stay by your phone, I'll send you proof in a few minutes and some instructions after that. For now, suffice it to say that I have your girlfriend and that you probably want to do what I tell you."_ The man paused.  _"Oh, and Detective? If you tell anyone else on the force about this, you'll have another murder case on your hands - only there will be no case because there will be no body."_

And with that, the line went dead.

* * *

Looking for somewhere to pull off the road, Esposito turned into the parking lot of a small diner, his thoughts whirling as he tried to process the conversation he had just had. As he was putting the vehicle in park, his phone chimed. A message popped up on the display, alerting him that he had a new text.

The message simply read,  _"If you needed any more proof..."_ There was a photo attached.

Esposito's stomach knotted as he hit the button to view the image.

He took a deep breath as the picture appeared on his phone's small screen. He had been braced for the worst, and this was very nearly it. The picture showed Lanie, hands and feet bound with duct tape with another piece over her mouth. But it was the look on her face that got him like a fist to his stomach; it was a look of fear mixed with defiance.

Esposito swallowed and sat back in the seat, clenching the phone in one hand and massaging the bridge of his nose with the other. The man on the other line had sounded serious, and that, coupled with the picture now displayed on the screen of his phone, was enough to have the detective worried.

A small part of his mind tried to reason that he and Lanie were no longer a couple, that it shouldn't be hitting him quite this hard. But he quickly shot that down. No matter what their current relationship status, he couldn't deny that he still loved her.

There. He had said it. No matter what they had fought over, no matter what their differences happened to be, she still held a place in his heart. Even though the kidnapper didn't seem to know the two of them had broken up, he had still picked an effective means to his end.

Esposito shook his head to clear it of the whirlwind of thoughts. Protocol was to report something like this to his team; there was no way he should go it alone. But the voice had made it clear that any involvement by any other officers would endanger Lanie.

Taking another deep breath, he stared through the windshield without actually seeing anything, lost in thought on the situation.

When the phone rang again a few moments later, Esposito started slightly. The device was still clenched in his fist; he lifted it and saw that the call was coming from Lanie's phone.

 _"Why, hello, Detective. So good to talk to you again,"_ the same voice as before greeted him.

"I can't say the same," Esposito snapped.

 _"Oh, temper, temper,"_  the man tsk-ed.  _"You'll want to keep that under control, I'm sure. Now, I trust you received the text I sent you; is it enough to inspire you to work with me?"_

Esposito purposefully ignored the question. "What do you want?"

 _"Williams,"_  the man stated simply.  _"He's currently being held at your station. Once you have him out, he'll check in with me and I'll let Dr. Parrish go."_

"You mean you want me to get a criminal out of police custody and then let him go free?" Esposito caught himself choking the steering wheel and tried to relax, though he just ended up squeezing it off and on like a stress ball.

_"You seem to have it correct, Detective. I trust you'll be able to figure it all out. And remember, no cops other than yourself. Leave Detectives Ryan and Beckett out of this."_

"Where do you want -" Esposito was trying to come up with a question that would tell him where Lanie was being held, but the man didn't give him much of a chance.

_"You have until tomorrow morning, Detective. If I don't get a confirmation that Williams is headed my way by ten am, you'll never hear from me or Dr. Parrish again, other than a text to let you know I've tied off all the loose ends._

_"And I'm being very generous with my deadline; please don't forget that."_

"Wait -" Esposito began, but the man cut him off.

_"I'll be keeping my eye on you. Please don't make me do anything harsh."_

And with that, the line once again went dead in his ear.

* * *

Esposito sat in the car after the man ended their conversation, trying to process it all and come up with some sort of plan on how to proceed.

Nothing had been left to question about the demands; it was only how to meet them that he had to consider, although that was not as simple as it sounded. He couldn't just let Williams out of holding without attracting at least some attention. And attention was the last thing he needed.

Several possibilities came to mind, but half of them involved at least one other person while the other half were so outrageous they would never work.

The only other solution was to find where the man was holding Lanie, but there was not much to go on either from the calls or the picture. The two brief conversations he had had with the man had been nearly devoid of background noise, and the picture that had been texted to his phone had not included anything to indicate where it had been taken. Esposito had a hunch that the man had purposefully done so, that he was being purposefully taunted by the lack of clues to finding Lanie. The kidnapper was leaving him no option other than to follow the given instructions to the letter.

He glanced at the clock on his dashboard. It was already pushing midnight; only about ten hours remained until the deadline and he was getting nowhere fast.

He would have to come up with a plan on the way, because there were no other options open at the moment. Well, it was either that or get input from someone else, but the kidnapper had made it very clear that Lanie would suffer if he contacted anyone on the force. The man had mentioned Ryan and Beckett by name, and Esposito wasn't sure how far this man's reach went. For all he knew, his every move was being watched.

The idea came to him almost unbidden, and at first he didn't give it much credence. But the more he thought of it, the more he liked it. Maybe there was a way around the kidnapper's demands after all.

Gates would have a field day with this one.

* * *

"Not that I'm not intrigued," Castle stated, taking a seat across from Esposito, "but do you have a reason for asking me to meet you in a dim, random, empty diner this late at night?" The writer was wearing a slightly disheveled button down and jeans, his hair tousled in a way that told he had been relaxing at home before the detective called him.

Esposito took another drink of coffee and looked across the booth at the writer. "I need your help with something, but you can't tell Beckett. Or Ryan," he added when Castle raised an eyebrow.

"Okay," Castle replied slowly, studying the detective. "Can I tell Lanie?"

A pained look crossed Esposito's face, just for a moment. "That's what I need to talk to you about." His voice was tight, and Castle nodded slowly, seeming to catch onto the detective's mood. The writer didn't say anything, though, just waited for Esposito to continue.

"About an hour ago, I got a call," the detective began to explain. He paused as the waitress made her way to the corner booth where they were sitting.

"Can I get you anything, hon?" she asked Castle, giving him a smile that could have rivaled a Christmas tree in brightness.

"Oh, um, just a coffee, thanks."

"Be right back," she winked.

As soon as she was gone, Castle turned back to the other man. "I'm guessing from your tone this call wasn't good news."

Esposito waited for the waitress to bring the second coffee and leave again before continuing. When he finished his story, he slid his phone across the table to Castle.

Picking the device up, Castle took in the image, his eyes widening slightly. He looked over the screen to meet Esposito's gaze. "Do you have any idea who this is?" he asked, his voice taking on an edge.

"No," Esposito shook his head. "It came from Lanie's phone, and the voice didn't sound familiar; all I know is that he's connected to Williams somehow."

"Okay then." Castle sat back, a concentrated expression on his face. "So you either have to figure out where this guy has Lanie or you have to let Williams go and hope they don't..." Castle trailed off, not wanting to say it aloud.

Esposito nodded grimly. "Bro, I need to know if you're on board to help me out with this."

"Of course I am," Castle didn't miss a beat. "I want Lanie back as much as you do. But are you sure we should keep this from Beckett and Ryan? You don't have to let the entire station know, but they can help, especially if you're going to try to get Williams out."

Esposito was torn, and Castle could see it on his face. The writer knew that Esposito still cared deeply for Lanie, no matter what either of them said, and the detective would do anything necessary to save her. But Esposito also relied heavily on his team, and this having to choose between one of the two was weighing on him greatly.

"I can't," he finally replied.

"But -"

Esposito leveled a look at the other man. "It isn't that I don't want to," he said firmly. "But if I can do this without putting Lanie in unnecessary danger, then I will."

They were silent for a moment, then Castle nodded. "Okay then. What's the plan?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Good morning, Ryan," Castle greeted with the most innocent smile he could muster as he strode up to the detective's desk. He held out a cup of coffee. "I figured I might as well grab you something while I was getting my own."

"Does Beckett know you're getting me coffee now?"

"Well, I would have brought her some if she was going to be here when I arrived," Castle returned with a grin. "By the way, did you see Esposito on the way up?" he continued in what he hoped was a casual manner.

"Nah," Ryan shook his head. "But we don't always get in at the same time; he's probably on his way in now."

Castle nodded. "Probably," he agreed, glancing discreetly in the direction of the interrogation rooms.

* * *

Esposito was waiting at the table when a uniformed officer delivered Williams to the interrogation room. "Thanks, Carver," he nodded at the officer who returned the gesture as he shut the door.

The suspect gave Esposito a smug grin. "So, Detective, how are things? Life okay? Girlfriend doing well?"

"Let me get one thing straight right now," Esposito growled. "The only reason I don't punch you out right here is because it would make things harder if I have to carry you out. But give me enough reason, and I might not worry about that quite so much." He didn't give the man time to reply before he continued. "Now, here's how this is going to work."

* * *

Castle had turned the conversation towards Ryan and Jenny's recent honeymoon when his phone buzzed. With a quick apology, he tapped the screen to read the text message.

"Who was that?" Ryan asked, glancing up. "You look concerned."

"Ah, um, it's nothing really," Castle shrugged. "It's...just Alexis." He stood from where he was sitting on the edge of Ryan's desk before the other man could note the pause he had made when trying to come up with an answer. As he did, he stumbled, and put out a hand to catch himself, accidentally hitting the other man's coffee cup. The hot, dark liquid spilled across the desk towards the detective.

Ryan pushed his chair back as quickly as he could, but not fast enough. He looked down to see a large brown stain on his white dress shirt, the spot speedily growing as the coffee soaked into the fabric.

"I am so sorry!" Castle was on his feet with handkerchief in hand. "I am such a klutz!"

"It's okay, Castle," Ryan assured him, lifting his hands helplessly as the other man attacked the stain.

"You sure? I'll pay for the dry cleaning or buy you a new shirt if you need me to. In fact, if you need one now, I can go -"

"Castle!" Ryan interrupted him.

Castle paused and looked up. "Yes?"

"You can stop wiping me down like I'm a kindergartner," Ryan told him, plucking the cloth from Castle's hand. "I've got another shirt in my locker."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I promise."

"Okay, then." Castle nodded. He gave Ryan a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry again. You can spill coffee on me next time if you want."

"It's fine," Ryan assured him again, pausing when Castle's phone buzzed a second time. "Everything okay?"

Castle shook his head. "It's fine; Mother, uh, Mother just locked herself out of the apartment. I'm going to go let her in, since we're still waiting on Esposito and Beckett."

Ryan studied his face. "Are you okay today, Castle? You seem kind of off."

"Nah, I'm fine," Castle chuckled. "Whatever would make you think that?"

"Just a hunch," Ryan replied slowly.

"Well, I'm fine, don't worry. And I will be back as soon as I can. Don't start on the case without me!" he added over his shoulder as he hurried for the door.

Ryan watched him go with a puzzled look on his face.

* * *

"I have to say, Detective, you managed that very well," Williams smirked from the passenger seat. The man was oozing with arrogance and it took all of Esposito's self-control to keep from clocking his passenger. "I'm very glad I can call my friend with some good news; you might get to see your darling Lanie again after all."

Esposito just clenched the steering wheel tighter, the muscles in his jaw working as he attempted to stay calm. "Just make the call and let me know what I need to do next."

"Patience, my dear Detective," Williams chided. "You really need to calm yourself down before someone gets hurt."

"I'll show you hurt," Esposito snapped.

Williams shook his head. "Stop at the next gas station; I need to use their payphone. New York's finest took my cell when I was checked into holding, and I would use yours but you don't have it on you."

"Only because you insisted I leave it behind," Esposito shot back.

"Well, I couldn't have your friends tracking the signal, now could I?" Williams asked. He pointed out the window. "Here, pull in at this next station."

* * *

Castle was seated in a corner booth at a small coffee shop several blocks down from the station, picking at a blueberry muffin and attempting to work on his latest novel, although he was too distracted to get very far with it. He kept checking his phone every two minutes to see if he had missed any messages and looking up each time the cafe's door opened. So far, he hadn't heard from Esposito, and with each minute that passed, he got more and more nervous.

The bell above the door jangled, and the writer looked up. When he caught sight of the two figures who had entered, he ducked quickly, pretending to have dropped something on the floor. A few moments later, he peeked out to see if the coast was clear, then hit his head on the underside of the table as he straightened up too quickly.

"Beckett! Ryan!" Castle smiled as cordially as possible as he rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't expect to see you here. Coffee?"

"You just spilled some on me earlier," Ryan told him, crossing his arms.

"Yeah," Castle winced. "Sorry."

Beckett gave him a similar look to the one Ryan was wearing. "Castle, you know why we're here."

"I do?" It wasn't the best response, but it was the only thing that came to mind.

"Where are Esposito and Williams?" Ryan prompted. "And does their disappearance have anything to do with your little stunt earlier?"

"They're missing?" Castle blinked. "Do I need to be worried?"

"Only if you don't tell us where they are," Beckett replied.

Castle hesitated, looking between the two detectives.

"I'm sure Gates would love to hear your explanation," she added.

"Okay," Castle finally gave in. "But this has to stay between the three of us."

* * *

"Well, everything is all set," Williams announced, walking out of the gas station to where Esposito was waiting by the car. "I've called a cab, too, so you're free to go."

"Oh no you don't," Esposito shook his head, ignoring the man's condescending tone as best he could. "If I let you go, I have no way to be sure Lanie's safe. No, I'm going to drive you to wherever your friend is holding her, and we're going to trade."

"You're not in a position to be making demands, Detective," Williams warned, his tone becoming overtly threatening.

Esposito had had enough. He stepped up so that he was nose to nose with Williams. "I most certainly am. For no reason other than to get your sorry butt out of jail, your associate kidnapped one of my department's own and forced me into a situation that could cause me to lose my badge and wind up on your side of the bars. So I think that if I had to go through all of that, I at least deserve to make some demands of my own."

He thrust a finger towards the car door. "Now, you are going to get in that car and tell me where to take you, or so help me, I will put you in this trunk without a thought to if you have enough air and find Lanie on my own."

Williams appeared to be contemplating whether or not to counter Esposito's threats, but in the end, he just shrugged and walked around the detective to the car. "All right, then, we'll do it your way. But I can't be held responsible for what might happen if you show up with me."

"I'll take my chances," Esposito muttered.


	5. Chapter 5

"I've got him!" Ryan announced from behind his monitor. "He's heading towards an industrial neighborhood out near the docks."

Beckett, Ryan, and Castle were back at the station, the detectives having convinced Castle that they could do much more to track down their missing team members from there than from the coffee shop. They were attempting to find Esposito by the GPS locator in his vehicle since their trace of his phone had not turned up any results.

Castle leaned in to get a better look at the monitor. "There's a lot of buildings out there."

"That's why we're going to see if we can narrow it down," Beckett spoke up from her desk. "I'm checking Williams' known associates against addresses in that area. Maybe we'll get lucky and find where they're headed."

A few moments later, she reached for a stack of Post-It notes sitting near her computer. "I think I've got it!"

Castle hurried to look over her shoulder. "Did you find something?"

"Yes." Beckett stood and grabbed her coat. "Jeff Warner, who was arrested with Williams once before, owns a company that rents a warehouse in the same area where you tracked Esposito's signal."

* * *

Esposito slowed the car to turn into the driveway that Williams had indicated. It led up to a warehouse that appeared deserted, as did the area around it. No vehicles were coming or going, and there were no sounds of life nearby. Several stacks of crates stood near the warehouse doors, but otherwise the area was empty.

"This is it," Williams announced, unhooking his seatbelt. "And Detective, I'd advise you stay put so I can go in alone," he added as Esposito exited the vehicle along with him.

"I told you already, I am not letting you out of my sight until I get Lanie back," Esposito replied.

Williams shrugged. "Suit yourself. But I really wouldn't recommend it."

Before their conversation could go any farther, the door in the side of the warehouse swung open. A tall figure exited the building and strode towards Esposito's car.

Esposito sized up the new arrival. He was slightly taller than either the detective or Williams, and his blond beard told what color his hair would have been if it hadn't been shaved off. The man's eyes narrowed as he approached the two.

"Williams, I thought I told you to take a cab here." The man's voice was harsh and commanding and carried the sneer of someone who thought he held more power than those around him.

"That you did," Williams oozed. "But our friend the detective here insisted on driving me, and you know how it is when someone is so very persuasive."

"No, I can't say that I do," the man returned simply. He pulled a gun from his belt and pointed it at Esposito. "Detective, please toss me your keys, slowly and carefully."

With no choice but to comply, Esposito reached into the car, around the steering wheel, and cut the ignition. He pulled out the keys and lobbed them towards the man with the gun.

"The only thing you seemed to do intelligently today, Williams, was to make our dear detective leave his gun behind," the man said. He turned his attention back to Esposito. "And now we're in a bit of a tough spot."

"How's that?" Esposito lifted his hands to his sides, watching the man carefully.

The man gave him a condescending smile. "Detective, you can't possibly think I'm just going to let you go now that you've seen me. I really would have let your girlfriend go, I can promise you that." He shot a meaningful look towards the building behind him. "But, now that you've seen me, I can't have you using that to the law's advantage. Pity. I was very much starting to like Ms. Parrish. She's quite the spirited woman."

"Fine, shoot me," Esposito snapped. "But Lanie's done nothing to you."

The man seemed to consider this for a moment. "Detective -" he began but stopped when a car rounded the corner at the far end of the street. "What part of no one else did you not understand?" he exclaimed, squeezing the trigger.

* * *

A wide-eyed Castle leaned forward from the backseat. "That was a gunshot!"

"Castle, get down!" Beckett ordered firmly, gripping the wheel as she stepped on the accelerator.

Ryan had the passenger side window rolled down and was leaning out of it, aiming his firearm ahead as Beckett's car barrelled down upon the standoff outside the warehouse. As soon as they were close enough, he fired.

Even though the shot missed, it was still enough to cause the other gunman to run for a nearby stack of crates. He turned his weapon towards the new threat and away from Williams and Esposito. One of Warner's bullets pinged off the hood of Beckett's car, and Ryan was forced to duck back inside as another shot nearly took out the mirror in front of him.

* * *

The bald man's bullet had found its mark, although a little farther to the right than he had intended.

The force of the shot spun Esposito to the side, and he grunted in pain, grabbing the inside of the car door to keep himself upright. He scuttled to the rear of the car, keeping his back against the vehicle and leaving a red smear on the paint as he did so. Once he was more fully shielded from the flying bullets, he stopped to assess the situation.

A quick look at his shoulder, and Esposito knew he was in even more trouble than he had been. It was bleeding profusely, and the fabric of his shirt sleeve had already soaked through.

He pressed a hand over his shoulder, wincing as he put as much pressure as possible on the wound. His surroundings spun for a moment, and he leaned heavily against the car. Once things stopped moving, he weighed his options. Williams was currently huddled on the back floorboards of the car, so Esposito wrote him off as any sort of help. And without the keys, the car wasn't going anywhere; he was going to have to come up with something else.

Just then, shots from another gun rang out, and the bald man ran to take cover behind a nearby stack of crates.

Esposito looked over his shoulder in the direction from which the shots had come, realizing with no small sense of relief that the vehicle that had spooked the man was Beckett's unit. His partner was leaning out the window, firing at the man behind the crates. When the other man returned fire, Ryan ducked back into the car, but in moments, the vehicle came to a stop beside Esposito's. Beckett pulled in so that the two cars made a right angle and provided more cover from the opposing fire.

"Tell me you brought an extra gun," Esposito said as soon as his partner had jumped out the passenger side of the vehicle.

"Good to see you too," Ryan returned, although he did reach inside the glove compartment and pull out Esposito's weapon. "You left this at your desk. You okay?" he added in concern, taking in the bloody hand his partner had clenched over his shoulder.

"He's got Lanie in there," was Esposito's only response as he nodded at the building. He purposefully ignored the way his partner's face was weaving in and out of clarity as his vision blurred.

Meanwhile, Beckett had crawled out of Ryan's door and was currently exchanging fire with the gunman. Castle had also exited the vehicle and was watching events with an expression that Esposito recognized; one of worry but also excitement as the writer was undoubtedly cataloging the entire scene for use in a future novel.

Beckett ducked back down behind the car to switch the clip on her weapon, and Warner took advantage of the pause to run back towards the warehouse.

"Warner! Freeze!" Beckett yelled.

The man didn't stop, however, and before any of the detectives could get off a shot, he had disappeared inside.

Esposito didn't wait for his teammates to act. He snatched up his gun from where Ryan had laid it and ran after the fleeing kidnapper.

He could hear Ryan yell something at him, but he didn't pause long enough to make out what his partner was saying. He was too busy trying to keep his world right side up. He wobbled slightly as he made his way to the warehouse, but he was fairly certain he accomplished his trip in a decently straight line.

Gritting his teeth against the pain that was shooting across his shoulder and up and down his spine courtesy of the bullet wound, Esposito stumbled through the warehouse door. He was still keeping pressure on the wound, but with the bottom of his fist, as his injured arm was useless to hold his weapon. Even though he was doing his best to stem the flow of blood, he was feeling increasingly dizzy, and he had to blink away the spots that were dancing in his line of sight. He heard the door slam shut behind him, the wind having caught it after he entered.

The interior of the building was hot and dim, the lack of circulation making the air feel thick and heavy. He could see Warner halfway across the large room that made up most of the first floor. The man was nearly at the metal staircase that sat next to two wooden doors in the corner of the room when Esposito spotted him.

"Warner!"

The man spun at Esposito's shout, bringing his gun around to bear on the detective. "Drop your weapon, Detective," he ordered coldly. "I told you not to get anyone else involved," he added. "Whatever happens now is on you." And with that, he tightened his finger on the trigger.

Esposito heard the shot and instinctively ducked and spun, but no bullet exited Warner's gun. Instead, he heard a grunt and looked over to see Warner grabbing his own chest, eyes widened in shock and pain as he crumpled to the ground.

Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted his partner slowly lowering his weapon, a look of determination on his face. Beckett was right behind Ryan, and she hurried to clear Warner as Ryan quickly made his way to where Esposito was still crouched on the ground.

"You okay, partner?"

Esposito just nodded as he pushed himself to his feet. The room was spinning even more violently, and it took all of his concentration to keep from toppling over onto Ryan.

"He's dead," Beckett announced, straightening with Warner's weapon in her hand.

"Did he say where Lanie was?" Castle asked. The writer had joined the group by this point and was doing his best to keep the worry off his face, although it was still evident to the detectives.

"No," Esposito managed. He had regained his balance somewhat, and he started for the metal staircase in the corner. "But I'm betting she's here."

"Hey," Ryan put a hand on the other man's good shoulder. "We can search the place; you need to sit down."

"I'll sit down once this is over," Esposito snapped. He hadn't meant to take out his frustrations on his partner, but the pain and the frustration of the situation got the better of his mental filter.

For his part, Ryan didn't say anything about Esposito's tone, but the look on his face was enough. "Then I'm coming with you."


	6. Chapter 6

It was a very long trip up to the second floor for the detectives. For Esposito as he determinedly put one foot in front of the other on a staircase that seemed to never end. For Ryan as he walked behind his partner, resisting the urge to make the other man sit down and wait for an ambulance. He knew it wouldn't do any good, so he held back the words and settled for keeping a close eye on Esposito.

His partner had him rather worried at the moment. Esposito was weaving slightly from side to side as he slowly made his way up the stairs, and Ryan could see the blood trail that was being left behind them from Esposito's injured shoulder. The other man's face was determined, his jaw clenched in an effort to keep any sign of the effort from his partner.

It had probably been only a few minutes at the most since they started up the stairs, but it felt like an eternity to both men. Finally, though, they reached the top of the stairs and started down the hallway towards the doors leading off of it.

The second level was dark and silent, much too silent for either detective's comfort. There were only four doors leading off of the hallway, which was more like a catwalk with a railing that overlooked the first floor one one side and rooms lining the other.

Ryan turned the knob to the first door carefully. As far as they knew, there were no more criminals to worry about, but it was chance they weren't going to take. Kicking in the now-open door, Ryan rushed inside, checking behind the door and then the rest of the room with his weapon drawn.

The room was small, dark, and devoid of any type of furniture. It only took a glance to tell that Lanie was not there, so Ryan quickly stepped back through the door. Esposito was just exiting the second room, and he shook his head when Ryan caught his eye.

Both moved to the next two doors simultaneously; Ryan watching his partner carefully as they did. The injured man's appearance hadn't changed; if anything, he looked less steady and more determined. Ryan again held back words of concern and settled for searching the last room on the second floor; he knew that until they found Lanie, he would have no success in attempting to persuade Esposito of stopping. His only option was to find their missing team member so that his partner could get the help he needed.

He pushed open the door and again checked behind it before turning to survey the room. There were several pieces of furnishing scattered about, which appeared to have been the dumping ground for the other offices. Several chairs had been stacked on top of a desk, and a few errant filing cabinets had been pushed into the room without regard to where they ended up.

Shadows danced in the corners and along the walls as Ryan cautiously advanced, checking behind each piece of furniture. There was nothing behind the desk or the three filing cabinets beside it, but before he could look any farther, he heard an exclamation from his partner in the room next to the one he was searching. Ryan spun on his heels and hurried through the door, hoping for good news but preparing himself for the worst.

When he rushed into the room, the first thing he saw was his partner. Esposito was in the corner of the room, kneeling beside a still figure on the floor.

Ryan had his phone out and to his ear before he even reached the pair in the corner. "This is Detective Kevin Ryan with the NYPD," he ordered as soon as his call was picked up. "I need an ambulance at this address right now!"

* * *

  
Esposito didn't hear anything his partner said after Ryan's first order over the phone. The other man was next to him now, talking to whoever was on the other line, but Esposito was only focused on Lanie.

She was quiet and still, although her chest was rising and falling steadily, allaying his fears of the worst.

He had peeled off the duct tape that covered her mouth and was now working with shaking hands to cut the bindings on her wrists and ankles. He was vaguely aware that his surroundings were growing more and more unsteady, and he forced himself to move even faster, determined to beat the haze that was taking over his consciousness.

There were voices at the door as Beckett and Castle arrived. Someone flipped on a light switch, flooding the room with bright light that blurred his vision and confused his senses even more.

He sawed at the tape even more frantically until he felt someone's hand on his own. He looked up and made out his partner's worried face looking into his.

"Hey, Javi, buddy, we've got this," Ryan assured him. "You need to get yourself looked at, okay?"

Esposito just nodded, too exhausted to fight it any more. He relinquished the pocket knife to his partner and felt another person's hand under his uninjured shoulder, helping him up. He barely registered Castle's voice near his ear, asking if he was okay, but the words were blending together. It was all he could do to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other without worrying about anything else.

The room suddenly tilted to the side, and when it realigned, Esposito found himself seated on a gurney with someone shining a flashlight in his eyes. He tried pushing the hand away, but his own was slow to respond.

He hardly had time to realize that his extremities weren't functioning correctly before the gray that was threatening the edges of his vision finally took over.

* * *

When he finally regained consciousness, he lay still for a few moments. He remembered the case... The call when he was driving home... The warehouse... Lanie...

Lanie.

His eyes flew open and the machines near his head started beeping urgently, although they calmed down when his gaze landed on the occupant of the chair beside his bed.

"Hey," he greeted softly.

She had gotten to her feet when the machines first started protesting, and she now put a hand on his shoulder. "How're you feeling?" she asked, studying his face.

He evaded the question with one of his own. "You okay? Warner didn't... hurt you, did he?" He swallowed against his dry throat.

"No," she shook her head as she reached for a cup on the nearby table. "He just drugged me; I really don't remember too much about the past day."

"You sure?"

"Javi, I'm fine," she told him firmly. "You, on the other hand, need to stop getting yourself so worked up. You need your rest. You lost a lot of blood; you're quite stubborn, you know that?"

He just nodded. "Lanie, listen, I- "

Before he could say anything more, a knock at the door interrupted him and Castle peeked in. "Oh good; you're awake!" the writer grinned as the three remaining members of the team filed in. "I need you to tell Beckett that I can totally bring you a sandwich and it'll be okay."

The female detective just ignored him. "You feeling okay?" she asked Esposito.

He just nodded. "I'm fine. Williams?"

"Williams is back behind bars," Beckett told him. "Warner figured it would be a good way to convince us to let Williams go before we found anything incriminating on him."

"Oh!" Castle broke in. "I need to go call Mother. She and Alexis wanted to know when they could come see you." He leaned in towards Esposito and gave the detective a wink. "And I'll make sure they bring you something edible along with the balloons."

He hurried towards the door before Beckett could say anything, giving the room a grin before disappearing into the hallway.

Esposito sighed and lay back against the pillows, closing his eyes just briefly. There was still plenty of ground to cover with Lanie when they were alone again, but for now, he was content with the thought that the situation had ended with everyone in relatively one piece.

And with the thought of whatever Martha might bring with her. From his experience, whatever it was would be infinitely better than hospital food.


End file.
